A spot of opposition gegenpressing was never going to perturb Middlesbrough on Tuesday night – and particularly not with Gastón Ramírez in such an imperious mood.
Excellent throughout, the Uruguayan scored two goals and created the other as Boro further banished memories of their painful recent wobble. A third successive win kept the Teesside club in the second automatic promotion place, one point behind Burnley and one ahead of Brighton while suggesting that the brief but dramatic schism between Aitor Karanka and his dressing room last month had now been repaired.
“Gastón Ramírez was the difference, he changed the game,” said Boro’s manager, whose side have a game in hand on both Sean Dyche’s and Chris Hughton’s teams. “We’re arriving at an important part of the season in a good way.”
From a distance David Wagner, aka Jürgen Klopp’s best man, looked deceptively like Tony Pulis. It was a false impression created by the German’s tracksuit and baseball cap combination but the quickest glance at the action was sufficient to confirm Huddersfield were most definitely not a Pulis team. Instead they played a brand of ambitious, high risk, football that would have reduced West Bromwich Albion’s manager to apoplexy and played straight into Karanka’s hands.
Granted, Wagner’s side – kitted out in an especially vivid shade of lime green – passed the ball attractively but they committed so many men forward that it seemed only a matter of time until Boro scored. Indeed it was mildy surprising that the visiting defence held out until the 32nd minute, when Grant Leadbitter beat Jed Steer from the penalty spot after Ramírez – who else? – turned Joel Lynch and the centre-half hacked him down.
The celebrations marking Leadbitter’s opener had barely abated when Ramírez scored a second. The technically gifted South American may have struggled at Southampton and flopped at Hull City but he is proving outstanding in the central role behind Jordan Rhodes in a 4‑2‑3‑1 formation on Teesside.
When Huddersfield, still regrouping, conceded possession awfully cheaply, Ramírez – blessed with a handy knack of reading situations and sensing opportunity seconds before anyone else – found himself one-on-one with Steer and proceeded to round the goalkeeper before dispatching the ball into the roof of the net from an awkward angle. “Going up,” the Riverside chorused. “The Boro’s going up.”
By now Karanka’s team were emphasising they were far too good to be deterred by the version of gegenpressing Wagner is implementing in West Yorkshire. Indeed Huddersfield’s principal problem was that, once they lost the ball, it was generally quite a while until they saw it again.
Moreover, a side still to banish slight relegation fears appeared petrified every time Albert Adomah accelerated down the right wing or George Friend slalomed forward from left-back.
Yet with both Adomah and Rhodes failing to make the most of chances to have given Boro an even more commanding half-time lead, there was a slight tension in the Riverside air as Huddersfield began the second period with a display of defiantly protracted possession.
If that boded well for the future of Wagner’s project – and a few cameos hinted at exciting times ahead – Nahki Wells remained largely isolated up front. Meanwhile Boro’s Dimi Konstantopoulos was only really tested by a weak shot from Joe Lolley and Adomah could have extended the home lead on the counterattack.
Eventually, deservedly, Ramírez registered the third, directing a fabulous free kick into the top corner with his left foot. “Middlesbrough were very strong, very concentrated, very focused,” Wagner said. “They were too good for us. It looks like their bad period is behind them.”
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